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That quote is rather cliché, but I just had to mention it for its relevance to this post. Somewhat.

It’s been a while since I have been telling whoever cared to listen that I wanted to do a ‘comprehensive’ medical check-up. It was soon time to travel to the NYSC camp, and I had not yet done anything. Then, I promised myself that would be one of the first things I would do immediately after camp. Circumstances beyond my outright control (including getting appointed as part of the next set of transitional executives of the Nigeria Christian Corpers Fellowship in Benue State) meant I had to remain longer than I had planned to, immediately after camp.

Long story short: so I called my guardian and he asked a number of questions, including where my PPA is. Then I broached the topic of health, and how I had been getting tired and exhausted easily, even with minimal physical exertion, bla bla bla. When I mentioned that I intended to do a ‘comprehensive’ medical check-up, guess what he said? “Is that what you want to be spending your money on? Just make sure you rest well…” If you get where I am headed, this was someone who would have picked up the bill several months back, but here he was making me realize again that as a young man, I had to sort out such bills myself!

Gone are those days as a child when one’s parents and guardians paid those medical bills, amongst others. Now that I have to part with what could be as much as an equivalent of $200, I have found myself thinking twice, thrice, and again! I am thinking of the opportunity cost, but I also remember the Assistant Director, Lectures, back at the orientation camp who kept reminding us that most Nigerians are always eager to fix their cars, but hardly go for an annual medical check-up. I don’t have a car yet, but I get the drift. We seem to pay more attention to maintaining our gadgets than our health (in my case, I’d probably spend my last kobo on buying books or maybe paying for internet subscription so I could have access to reading material online.) I still imagine the caliber and number of books that would buy me if I walked into Laterna Bookshop on Victoria Island.

But, only the living and healthy will be able to read, eat… whatever!

So, when last did you go for a medical check-up? How well do you take some time to rest? It is disheartening to hear of breadwinners who slump and die as a result of accumulated stress. Do you still place priority on the care of your material possession than your health? What are your two cents on this matter?

Like that cliché goes: an apple a day keeps the doctor away. An annual ‘comprehensive’ medical checkup would probably keep the nurses away as well, ‘cos I still dread those syringes like arrows infringing on my (personal) freedom!

Photo credit: graphicssoft.about.com